Occupation Demands to University of Warwick - #WarwickOccupy

The actions of the University and Students’ Union in the last week have led to us occupying two rooms in the Students’ Union HQ, as documented by our earlier ‘Occupation Statement.’ Both the University and the Students’ Union have demonstrated serious neglect for the welfare and rights of vulnerable students - namely Palestinians, Muslims and other Black and Brown students. Through our occupation we seek to reclaim our SU, so that it may start fulfilling its basic duties and obligations to represent us as ethnic minority students as we call for our University to fulfill its duty of care in the protection of our well-being and rights. This has led to us drawing up a list of the following demands, some of which are addressed to the SU, and some of which to University management. These are our demands addressed to the University; however, they should be read in conjunction with our demands to the Students’ Union, as we seek institutional transformation. We shall call off the occupation when both SU and University Management demonstrate a clear commitment to all of the demands of our movement, as presented below.

Our Demands

  1. We demand rights for the occupiers:
  • We demand the University cease to surveil and/or collect information about those involved with the occupation or associated actions. Any current information held on student protestors and occupiers must be deleted entirely after being disclosed to the students in question.
  • We demand a guarantee of the rights of students and staff involved in the occupation, as laid out in our Code of Conduct.

  1. We demand an investigation regarding the invitation of Col. Dror onto campus:

We demand a full investigation into the event in question, which accounts for any potential conflict of interest. We do not want a repetition of the previous investigation into the ‘Rape Chat Scandal’, which was not fit for purpose, subjected victims to additional trauma, and had a conflict of interest due to the appointment of Director of Press as Investigating Officer.    

  • Why was the speaker request granted despite the speaker’s affiliation with StandWithUs, an Islamophobic organisation? Why was no thorough check into the background and affiliations of the speaker and the sponsors of the event conducted?
  • Why did the University not respond to the statement that was signed by hundreds of signatories, comprised of students, academics, as well as heads and executive members of societies?
  • Why, despite the protest, was the speaker moved to a different room by Campus Security when event location and time are prominent aspects of the external speaker request form? The room and time change, under the regulations pertaining to external speaker events, should have therefore been submitted in advance for approval.

  1. We demand an investigation into campus security:
  • We demand an investigation into the actions of campus security as detailed in our statement, on the day of the protest and initial occupation - this especially concerning the filming of protestors using personal devices by security.
  • We demand an investigation into, and a response to, the case of racial profiling which occured during the protest at the library.
  • We demand an investigation into the broader history of profiling Black, Brown, LGBTQ+, and other minority students by campus security published to be accessible to all students, conducted in collaboration with the societies relevant to those minority groups.
  • We demand a fit for purpose complaints system for students when such situations arise - one accessible to all students, considering student representatives’ contributions and one that ensures full accountability.
  • We demand a compulsory anti-discrimination training programme to be implemented for all security personnel which not only combats unconscious bias, but also has a broader focus on systems of oppression.

  1. We demand divestment from the Israeli occupation:
  • Whilst any SU engagement with divestment must be mandated by a student vote, this does not prevent the wider University from divesting from occupation. A precedent has been set by Leeds University to divest from companies which are complicit in human rights abuses: https://waronwant.org/media/leeds-university-divestment
  • The University refused to publish their investments after a Freedom of Information Request from the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign. We demand that these investments are published publicly.
  • We demand the permanent halting of any investment in Israeli occupation:
  • We demand a boycott of products manufactured in Israeli settlements in Rootes Grocery Store and across wider University-managed outlets.
  • We demand the University cease any collaboration with arms manufacturers such as BAE Systems and Rolls Royce, whose machinery is habitually used in attacks on Palestinian people. This includes any form of investment, as well as commercial and security deals.
  • Hewlett-Packard (HP) plays a key role in Israel’s occupation and apartheid regime. We demand all association with HP must end: all their products must be boycotted.
  • We demand that the presence of the aforementioned companies at recruitment events, including career fairs and networking events, be banned.
  • We demand that BAE and RR funded scholarships, or more broadly any scholarships financed by arms manufacturers with non-military based financial support, similarly be banned.
  • We demand any association with the construction and mining company Caterpillar, whose equipment is used to demolish Palestinian homes in the Occupied Territories, also be banned.  
  • We demand that University-managed pension funds are divested from investment in the aforementioned organisations.

  1. We demand an investigation into wider institutional racism in the University:
  • We demand the University admit that they are currently institutionally racist, and have contributed to creating an unsafe environment for their students and staff.  
  • We demand that the University carry out a thorough investigation into structures of institutional racism present at every level of the institution:
  • Rather than only appointing ‘independent consultants,’ all investigations must include serious consultation with members of Liberation Societies, marginalised students, as well as sabbatical officers and SU staff. All investigations carried out must be transparent, accessible, and determine who is accountable wherever possible.
  • The SU must employ a diverse team with expertise in racial inequality in this investigation, in which different ethnic minorities are represented and given voice.  
  • We demand the University devise a strategic plan to tackle institutional racism including, but not limited to, the ‘BME Attainment Gap’, ‘BAME pay gap’, and incidents of overt racism.
  • We demand that the University specifically address how its policies have created an unsafe environment for Palestinian students in the investigation:
  • Why is there more scrutiny in the process of approving pro-Palestinian external speakers, in comparison to the approval of an IDF speaker? Warwick Justice for Palestine is placed under greater scrutiny and excessive monitoring when inviting speakers, and the academics organising the events are asked to attend extra ‘security’ meetings, in comparison to other external speakers. This has pressured the academics into avoiding hosting speakers who talk about Palestine, which is a form of censorship. This is an infringement on academic freedom and should not be happening at a university which should champion critical thought. 
  • There is a double standard when it comes to the humanity of Palestinians and this must be acknowledged and undone.

  1. We demand an investigation into, and the undoing of colonial legacies on campus:
  • We demand that the University address any colonial legacy on campus and take appropriate action to dismantle these aspects of the university.
  • We demand that the Radcliffe Centre be renamed. It is named after Viscount Radcliffe - the first Vice Chancellor of the University, who drew up the partition line which separated the Bengal region into India and Pakistan, causing the deaths and displacement of millions.
  • The University must take seriously the findings of the Decolonise Project, and respond to them within 90 days of report submission. They must then release an action plan in response to these reports.

  1. We demand a stop to the targeting of Palestinian, Arab and Muslim Groups:
  • We demand that the University stop abusing CONTEST policies, most prevelantly Prevent, to surveil and limit the rights of Palestinian and Muslim students and staff.
  • We demand that the University, including campus security, make proactive efforts not to silence pro-Palestinian activists from protesting on campus. This must include protecting the right of Arab and Palestinian students and staff to not be filmed or surveilled, as this could directly endanger said students due to organisations such as Canary Mission with links to the Israeli state.
  • We demand that the University implement specific and substantial scholarships to support potential students who are negatively impacted by any part of the Israeli occupation, including the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights.
  • We demand greater university contact (e.g. exchange/year abroad programmes) with Palestinian and Arab universities.

  1. We demand important changes to Well-being and Welfare:
  • The welfare and mental health services must hire different counsellors, with expertise in the different inequalities that different students face. This must be a diverse team, which represents different minority groups. There must be recognition that mental health is linked to wider social and political structures.
  • We demand that Personal tutors be given training to ensure that they address the different needs that minority and working class students have due to their different socio-economic backgrounds and lived experiences.

  1. We demand changes to democratic and anti-oppression structures within the University:
  • We demand direct access to decision-making bodies for representatives from marginalised groups, with a specific mandate on anti-oppression policy. This must  include places on the University Council and Senate.

We expect a detailed response to each of these demands, and each bullet point within them. To repeat, we shall only call off the occupation when we these demands are met by the SU and University Management.

From #WarwickOccupy